Press Freedom Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the continued imprisonment of journalists in Egypt, and to restrictions on press freedoms worldwide.

Al Jazeera, the news network, has called today, Thursday, February 27, Press Freedom Day. Reporters in more than 30 cities around the world, including in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, are holding vigils to remember all the journalists currently at risk from governments that restrict the most valuable of international rights: the right to a free press and to freedom of speech.

The military-led government of Egypt has engaged in wholesale repression of the media, especially outlets thought to be sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, since overthrowing President Mohamed Morsi in June 2013.

This repression culminated with the arrest of three Al Jazeera employees on December 29, 2013. On that day, Egyptian authorities arrested three employees of Al Jazeera and accused them of ``spreading lies harmful to State security and joining a terrorist group.''

Another 20 journalists were prosecuted this year for ``airing false news,'' among other apparently meritless charges.

Today, four Al Jazeera reporters are currently being detained in Egypt in the Tora Prison compound for their reporting from Egypt. They are charged with being members of the organizations on which they were reporting, a charge that Al Jazeera and other international media organizations and press protection groups have rejected.

Peter Greste, Al Jazeera English's Nairobi-based correspondent; Mohammed Fahmy, their senior producer in Egypt; and Baher Mohamed, their producer in Egypt, are all being held in one small cell in Egypt at that prison under difficult and, to put it gently, Spartan conditions.

They are allowed out of their cell for only 1 hour a day, and they have been detained since December 29. They had been separated, but I would thank the Egyptian authorities for at least bringing them together, so they can at least lean on each other for support.

Abdullah al-Shami, the Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent, has been held since August of 2013 and has been on a hunger strike, protesting his detention since January. Their families in Australia, Canada, and Egypt are working tirelessly for their freedom.

I can empathize with the fear and concern their families face each day, worrying about the physical and mental health of their loved ones.

Locking up reporters has never stopped the world from finding out what is going on in a country, particularly in this modern world.

Egypt is a proud nation with a proud history and has been a longtime ally of the United States of America. The Egyptian people, regardless of which government, party, or individuals they support, have made it clear: their choice is one of democracy and freedom.

For those goals to be achieved, freedom of the press and freedom of speech must be respected and promoted. I encourage the Egyptian Government and the Egyptian judiciary to immediately release these four journalists, as well as all other journalists currently detained, and to allow all members of the news media to operate in an unrestricted environment that is free from harassment, censorship, and arbitrary arrest and detention.

As White House spokesman Jay Carney has said:

The restrictions on freedom of expression in Egypt are a concern, and that includes the targeting of Egyptian and foreign journalists and academics simply for expressing their views.

Earlier this month, I sent a letter signed by 15 Members of the Congress, urging the Secretary of State to take immediate action to help secure the release of these journalists in Egypt; and as Egypt struggles to find its identity, it is important for the international community to remind the Egyptian leadership--and all world leaders--of the need for a free press.

The imprisonment and prosecution of journalists sends a clear and ongoing message of harassment and intimidation to all journalists in Egypt. Free those journalists. A free society requires a free press.

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